Heart's Illusion
by Jiwe
Summary: AU. InuKag. Twice he had met her, and twice she gave him hope and strength. She is his angel, but who is she? Is it more difficult to love someone you don't know...or to keep from loving someone that's right in front of you?
1. Prologue 1: Cupcakes and Roses

AN: Omgomgomg! Ok…I'll stop hyperventilating --deep breath--…New Story ...and you'll know why I was hyperventilating in my ending AN :D.

Disclaimer: Here's three words for ya: NOT MINE (excepttheplotofthisstoryandanyothernoninuyashacharactersthatimaydecidetoputinthestorylateron). Thank-you.

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**Heart's Illusion**

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Prologue

It was raining. The dark, ominous clouds overhead seemed to make everything dreary shades of grey. Lightning flashed violently, accompanied by boisterous claps of thunder. Fat droplets of water fell from the heavens, creating a constant rhythm of pitter patter as they splashed on the ground.

Despite the dull-spirited atmosphere outside, the mood inside Middleton Elementary School was much different.

It was Valentine's Day, the fourteenth day of February. Since the school hosted such a young group of kids, the primary highlight was just exchanging valentine cards and treats. It was also sort of different this year though. The staff has decided that the day shall be celebrated in collaboration with a 'friendship theme' to improve the kids' attitudes towards each other. And so far, it was working, surprisingly.

The kids were happy since their teachers had kept their promise of a work-free day. In Ms. Yomiko's third grade class, brightly decorated cards with hearts were in the midst of being traded. Little mouths full of chocolates and other goodies carried on cheerful conversation, giggling occasionally at an inside joke. Hugs were common and there were even a few stray pecks on the cheek.

Through the happy haze of it all, no one noticed a boy. He had the most unusual hair colour - a lustrous silver - and a pair of equally unique amber eyes. He was the only one seemingly unaffected by the blanket of joy surrounding him. Head bowed, shoulders slumped, he stared blankly at his desk, not seeing.

Inuyasha did not understand.

Why were these kids laughing when he felt like he couldn't ever smile again? Why were they able to proudly pull out a handful of cards they got from their friends when he doesn't even have one? Why were they able to take their parents for granted without a second thought, when all the family he has left is his half-brother who doesn't even like him?

_Why did his parents have to die?_

Inuyasha did not understand…

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The little girl happily skipped down the hall, heading towards her first grade classroom. She was such an adorable little thing. Her shiny black locks were fastened into two pigtails and her bright smile showed that she had already gotten her first visit from the tooth fairy. Those round chocolate orbs of hers was her most prominent feature - usually the reason why grownups get the urge to pinch her cheeks and squeal "Oh she's so cuuuuuuuuute!".

One little chubby fist tightly clutched the paper bag of Valentine treats for her class (homemade chocolate cupcakes) and in the other was half a dozen of crimson roses in full bloom for her teacher. Already giddy with excitement, she skipped a little faster, anticipating the treats and cards she was going to receive in return.

The little girl reached the perpendicular intersection of the hallway and spun on her heel to the left to continue to her destination. As soon as she turned, a burst of laughter caught her attention, causing her to glance to her right, into the classroom in which it came from. At once, her eyes landed on a boy. In that instant, all she could see was that boy. Maybe it was his colours - that deep red shirt he was wearing and his hair. Yes, definitely his hair. The little girl had never seen such a pretty colour…and - she noticed with a widening of her eyes - there were furry triangular ears on top of his head!

Her feet stopped moving long before, having forgotten where she was supposed to go already. She blinked, breaking the rather innocent, if shameless eye contact with the pretty silvery tresses and those adorable ears. But, she wasn't done just yet. Big brown eyes filled with wonder, she continued to stare at him.

The boy was older than her, that's for sure. He was just sitting there; eyes downcast and slumped over at his desk as his classmates pranced around, obviously enjoying themselves. His messy bangs hid his eyes from her view, but just from the grim line of his mouth, she could tell that he was sad. No one seemed to notice him and he didn't seem to care.

Something nagged at the little girl. She just knew that something was wrong with this picture, but just couldn't figure out what it was. The boy's apparent sadness was troubling, but there was something else…

So the little girl stood there, chewing her lip in her own typical way when she was pondering over something. Her brown eyes once again swept over his shirt and that pretty silver hair. She went over his posture. His face. His hands clasped so tightly together that his knuckles were white. The wooden surface of his desk on which his hands rested on -

The little girl gasped. His desk was clean - there was absolutely nothing on it! Nobody had given him anything…no cards. No presents. Not even a chocolate.

The little girl felt shocked at this revelation and was almost certain this was the reason for the boy's sadness. Her small chin trembled with indignation. Why, this certainly wasn't very nice. She would surely feel terrible too if no one had loved her enough to have given her anything on this special day.

The little girl decided at once that something had to be done. The boy didn't seem all that bad and even if his unpopularity was his own fault, his classmates were being cruel themselves.

Besides, her mommy always told her "two lefts don't make a right". Or something like that…

So what could she do? Well, it seemed now the only way to solve the heartache of the boy was to give him some valentines so he wouldn't feel so bad. She glanced down at her own valentine paper bag. Certainly she must have at least one extra cupcake in there…

Her feet had begun to move, and she was toddling her way into the totally foreign classroom in a rather determined fashion. Strangely enough, there was no exclamation over the appearance of a tiny girl who was just the height of a desk. Under normal circumstances the little girl would have been nervous about charging into a classroom full of bigger kids but…

Today she had a mission. A boy's happiness was completely in her hands…literally! So the little girl coached herself not to chicken out and trudged on bravely.

It took about all of ten steps to arrive at the boy's desk. His ears looked even cuter up close! Ooh she just couldn't resist! She fumbled for a moment, transferring the bouquet of roses to her left hand. Standing on her tip-toes and stretching her arm, she reached up and closed her hand over one furry tip -

And marvelled at the softness for all of zero-point-six-seven-seconds when the boy snapped his head up and sharply wrenched his ear away from her reach. Misty golden eyes regarded her with suspicion. A bit shocked, the little girl blinked up at the boy. The suspicion became bewilderment. Large brown eyes blinked again. Bewilderment turned into curiosity. She was about to blink a third time when she remembered why she came to blink at this boy in the first place.

Inuyasha regarded this strange girl with mixed emotions as she rummaged around in that stuffed paper bag she was carrying, while trying to balance that huge bouquet of roses also in her arms. Now just where had she come from? It was like she had just popped out of nowhere. And _why_ was she just feeling his ears? More importantly, why was she even here - paying attention to him! Inuyasha was absolutely sure he has never seen her before…

"Here. Thish ish for you." The odd girl held a toothsome chocolate cupcake in her hand, complete with chocolate frosting and gummy bears.

Inuyasha froze. Why was she smiling at him like that? Surely "for you" was not directed at him…? But does that cupcake ever look yummy…

Inuyasha's lack of response was causing the little girl to be little nervous. Maybe he doesn't like chocolate? But that's impossible…everyone loves chocolate. And…hey! The chocolate's melting…The little girl frowned as trails of brown, gooey liquid trickled down her fingers.

Noticing this, Inuyasha finally took the cupcake. It had gone a bit squishy but still looked appetizing. He stared at the girl some more, half expecting her to yell at him for taking her cupcake. Instead he just watched her lick off her fingers one by one, and then found himself looking at her bright smile once again.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" The little girl turned around to leave, feeling much more cheerful now that her mission was accomplished. Suddenly, she stopped as she regarded her rose bouquet. Turning back to face the boy once again, she carefully maneuvered one single flower from the bound bouquet, mindful of the thorns. Giving the baffled boy yet another sweet smile, she handed it to him.

Inuyasha took the crimson flower in a daze, still feeling quite weird about everything that's happened in the last two minutes. In his left hand he now clutched a chocolate cupcake and in his right, a rose. When he looked up from his newly received valentines, the girl was not there - gone as quickly as she had come.

Finally, Inuyasha snapped out of his stupor and cautiously took a bite of his cupcake. For the first time in a long while, he smiled.

Peeking in the classroom just in time to see this small display of happiness, little Kagome smiled as well, pleased that she had just a little to do with it.

AN: Ok, I was hyperventilating because I just read the latest chapter of the Inuyasha manga. Major developments! It made me sad and happy all at once…so I decided to write this story. If you haven't checked out the manga, do so later! As in after-you've-reviewed later :D. And watch out for prologue part 2...coming soon.


	2. Prologue 2:Second Encounter, Second Miss

A/N: I'd apologize for the loooong delay, but I don't think there are people who like this story enough to actually hate me for not updating -.- But anyway! For the people who may read this story, this is an monstrously long chapter from me. That's kind of why it took me so long...

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha & company. Hope you (-cough-stinking-cough-) lawyers appreciate my bluntness.

_**Jiwe Presents: **_

_**Heart's Illusion----Prologue Part 2: Second Encounter, Second Miss**_

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Kagome held her breath anxiously, resisting the urge to squeal loudly and deafen everyone within a one mile radius. She couldn't believe it! After five years of begging and bribing, her mom had finally agreed, and she had finally, _finally_, gotten a puppy.

It was currently wriggling inside a large, breathable cardboard box two inches away from her, waiting to just jump into her arms. Eagerly Kagome worked the huge ribbon, grinning so widely that her mouth practically did stretch from ear to ear.

As soon as the ribbons released their hold, the lid of the box popped open and out jumped a furry ball of something silver and red. It tackled Kagome and promptly started licking the girl's face. Giggling wildly, Kagome got a hold of her new puppy by its forearms to have a good look at it. Interesting…she had never seen its breed before, but that didn't exactly matter. With glee she noted that it had beautiful silver fur with small, adorable triangular ears and a pair of big, golden eyes. It was wearing a red doggy sweater and even a Santa hat sat on top of its head. So incredibly cute…

This was simply the best Christmas ever!

The puppy got tired of being idle and decided that its new owner had stared long enough. With a 'woof!' it launched itself at Kagome once more, resuming its previous task of licking her cheek.

Kagome laughed loudly. "Hey, that tickles…ha ha! Ooh…so ticklish…ha ha ha…"

Souta regarded his sister with a devilish expression. What was she dreaming about that's got her so giggly?

'_Who cares. All I want is for her to wake up so that I can complete the mission that mama sent me on.' _With a bored sigh, Souta resumed his actions more vigorously. "C'mon sis, wake up already!"

"…ha ha ha…you've gotta stop now…I'm getting a stomach ache…ha ha ha - ah choo!" Kagome sniffed loudly. "Aaaah - choooo!" Sniff, sniff. "Ugh…"

Eyes still closed, she rubbed her nose briskly, trying to get rid of the annoying itch while letting out an enormous yawn. After that problem was taken care of, she groggily opened her eyes a millimetre and squinted at her alarm clock.

"It's eight o'clock. If you get up now you can still make the bus," Souta told his sister cheerfully.

Now _that _got the sleepy girl's attention. "WHAT! Why didn't mama wake me up? Why didn't - " she stopped, then regarded her seven year old brother suspiciously. He was holding their mother's feather duster rather innocently. "What are _you _doing in my room?"

"Mama's busy cooking breakfast so she sent me on a mission to wake you up. I guess feather dusters really does work in wakin' people up…" He grinned toothily (which wasn't very toothy) at his sister who was madly scrambling out of bed.

Kagome glanced at her clock. Twenty minutes! "Get out of my room you little twerp, before I wrap you in duct tape and throw you in the basement for all the rats to feed on and - "

"I'm going, I'm going! Sheesh…no respect for little brothers these days…" Still muttering, Souta walked out of the conspicuously pink room, taking the offensive brown feather duster with him.

Fifteen minutes! No way was Kagome going to be late on her first day at a new school. As she frantically searched for a matching pair of socks, she vaguely decided that having such a cute puppy like the one in her dream wouldn't be so bad…

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The ox youkai exhaled a big puff of air through his enlarged nostrils. Why did recesses at Juban Middle School always have to be so _boring_? The basketball nets were broken, the soccer field was grassless…

...There were no nerds to bully...

…That was, until he spotted a scene that had caused his fiery temper to fuel up at full force. Atsushi narrowed his eyes as a disturbing conversation drifted into his ears.

"Did I tell you that you look fantastic in that skirt, Emika? Of course, it's because you have such nice legs…"

Emika giggled. "Really? I didn't know if I should like, wear it, because it's like, so short."

"Oh no. Skirts are definitely your thing. The shorter the better."

Atsushi smirked as he made his way to the conversing couple leaning against the brick wall of the school. Oh that Miroku boy is going _down…_

Emika giggled again. "You're such a flirt. Like, what did you say your name was again?"

"It's Miroku. And I already know what your name is, beautiful." He winked. "Hey you wanna go out some -" A low guttural sound from behind abruptly cut Miroku off, giving him a warning of the consequences to come because of his earlier words. The flirtatious boy gulped, and he both saw and felt an enormous shadow tower over himself, effectively blocking out his sun.

He had a really bad feeling about this…but before Miroku could summon up the courage to turn around, Atsushi did it for him.

The poor boy was spun around and tossed to the cement ground like a leaf.

"Ow…" When Miroku managed to get rid of the stars swirling around his head, the first thing he saw was a rather large yellow nose ring hanging between two equally large nostrils.

"You picked the wrong girl to flirt with, pervert." The mouth under the nose ring said in a low voice.

"Wrong girl…?" Miroku was still a bit dazed. He touched a finger to a pounding spot on his forehead, and wasn't surprised to find blood.

"That's right, pervert. Emika's _my _girlfriend so you'd better keep your dirty hands off of her." The threat could have been a lot more threatening if Atsushi's nose ring hadn't been so big that it moved every time his lips moved.

The said girl retreated a few steps, clear of the brewing fight and plopped down on a nearby bench, then crossed one leg over the other. She was just close enough to hear what was being said and far enough so that no accidental punches could hit her. Sighing out of boredom, she took out a tube of Strawberry Shortcake flavoured lip gloss and unscrewed the lid. She coated her lips with the thick, shiny oil and then smacked her lips together to make sure every inch of her lips were covered. Then she re-screwed the lip gloss tube, and leaned back to enjoy the show. After all, fights over her are always fun to watch.

Miroku picked himself off of the ground and dusted himself off. In a situation like this, he should have felt scared, but he wasn't. There were far too many past occurrences of incidents like this one for him to feel _that_ emotion anymore.

It was time for the Warding-Off-Jealous-Boyfriends-Strategy. It should work beautifully today, considering who he was dealing with. Atsushi had the whole package of being an intimidating bully; he was tall, he was strong (like an ox), and he was mean. He was also very dense. Emika is probably only dating him because she needs someone to carry all her shopping bags when she goes to the mall.

Miroku quirked a little smile at Atsushi. "My man, let's not let our hands do the talking. Words work better in solving our little misunderstanding - uh uh uh! Didn't I tell you not to go around swinging that fist? Now, let's analyse this problem of ours -"

"Using what? Your pea-sized brain?" Atsushi sneered, then mentally applauded himself for coming up with such a cool insult.

Miroku sighed. But it wasn't just any sigh. It was the sigh that had the you-are-so-stupid feel to it. Only Miroku could sigh like that. It was used at times like these to make the other person feel self-conscious.

"What?" Atsushi demanded, in the typical self-conscious tone.

Miroku walked closer to the Atushi and slung one arm over the ox youkai's shoulder - a bold action - and led them further away from Emika and her cross-legged position on the bench.

Emika arranged her face into a pout slash frown. Where were they going? _'Oh whatever. I don't like, have time for this anyway. Like, where's that Asae? That girl like, promised me a free manicure from like, her mom's shop…'_ She had to live up to her reputation of Juban's hottest girl. And so, Emika stood up in a huff, and went off to see to more important matters.

The guys kept walking.

"I think you're a good guy…so I'm gonna pass on the secret to my success in the girl department to you."

"Yeah? And what would that be?" Atsushi had to admit that he _was_ curious. He'd heard of this boy's perverted behaviour, but no matter how perverted he was, he was still quite popular with girls.

"Ok, I'm gonna tell you, but this is between you and me. Don't let anyone else know, especially the girls."

Atsushi exhaled a puff of air that made his nose ring jingle.

Miroku took that as a 'yes'. So he continued, "There are two parts to this. First, you must change your view of girls."

"Change my view of chicks?"

"Uh huh. That earlier possessive behaviour over Emika was unacceptable. Made you look entirely like a lovesick and jealous bull

youkai -"

"I'm an ox youkai!"

"Uh huh. And all I did was compliment her. And lucky for me, that's about as far as I got." Miroku glared pointedly at the ox youkai.

Atsushi looked guiltily down at his feet . "My bad…"

Miroku smirked inwardly. This was easier than he thought…"My point is, you can't be so serious all the time."

"Serious?"

"Yeah! I mean, look at you!" Miroku patted Atsushi's back. "You, my friend, are what the girls call 'cute'." That, of course, was a white lie. "And that means you've gotta act like you're cute…you've gotta be…more promiscuous."

"What's pro…uh, thingy mean?"

Miroku scratched his head lightly. "Never mind." It's not his fault that he's too smart for his peers. Time for a different approach. "Its just that you've gotta be more _whatever _about girls, you know? You gotta let loose."

"Ooh…"

"If Emika's flirting with another guy, then why can't you? That's the way you have to look at it. And if she pisses at you because of it then just move on. There's plenty of fish in the sea is what I always say." Miroku looked at Atsushi. He finally seemed to be getting it. "Besides, right now we're at the ripe ol' age of thirteen - er, and fourteen - it's the beginning of the rest of our dating lives! You can't be too serious about just one girl my friend, 'cause what about the tons of other girls just waiting to meet us?"

Atsushi looked dazed. "You right man, you right…"

"So you won't get jealous anymore when other people flirt with Emika?"

"Never…"

"So I can have her?"

"Yeah…" Atsushi snapped to attention once he realized what he'd just said. "WHAT, NO!"

Miroku winced at the loud volume. "How about if I tell you the secret?"

Atsushi gaped at him. "You mean all that stuff wasn't it?"

Miroku shrugged. "Emika or the secret. Your choice."

Atsushi could feel sweat forming on his forehead. Oh man…the school's most popular girl or the secret to getting all girls? It was such a tough decision!

Miroku decided to help him out. "Honestly, it is not difficult. Giving up this one girl means you can have all the others."

"Ok…" The pained expression on Atsushi's face was almost comical…he was, after all, contemplating dumping the hottest girl at school. But wait! There was always Emika's sister…"Ok, fine. Your secret."

Miroku beamed. "Great. My secret is -" He paused for dramatic effect. "- my hands."

"Your hands?" Atsushi regarded Miroku's outstretched hands with confusion. "They seem like nothing special to me."

"But they are. Hoh the things they can do. These are blessed hands, I tell you. They can make a girl blush like that -" finger snap, "as soon as they touch her…and once a girl blushes, her attention's all yours." '_Of course, that's good AND bad.' _Miroku mused silently.

Atsushi looked genuinely interested now. But then… "They're _your _special hands. I don't have these hands."

Miroku had to give the guy credit for not being a complete blockhead. "Well, that's where this next ceremony comes in," He replied easily.

"What ceremony?" Atsushi looked slightly nervous.

"Gimme your hands. And close your eyes. Just concentrate on what you want," Miroku ordered. "I'm going to transfer the power of my hands into yours," he finished dramatically.

"But what if it doesn't work? What if -"

"Geez! Just gimme your hands!" For having a reputation as a big mean bully, Atsushi sure was a scaredy cat.

The ox youkai hesitated but followed orders anyways.

Ten seconds later…

"All done. You officially have the power of 'Miroku Hands'," Miroku said solemnly. "Congratulations."

Atsushi brought his hands close to his face for inspection. "I don't see no difference," was his conclusion.

"It's all in the feeling. You'll see. Just remember to be brave and use lots of contact!"

The stupefied expression was still on Atsushi's face, though he looked a little bit more reassured than a minute ago. "Ok, man…thanks…I guess…"

Miroku waved cheerfully until the ox youkai had slipped into the flood of students. "Oh dear God, what a dense idiot…" he muttered, shaking his head. He shrugged; that Atsushi was at least going to have a bruised cheek or two by lunch break.

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Kagome jumped when the loud rings of the bell suddenly shattered the silence.

"It's lunch already…?" She muttered to herself as she gathered up her notebooks and dropped them into her bag. Her old school didn't have lunch until twelve. _'I guess Japan and the US really are different.'_

The eleven year old girl felt a twinge of sadness as she realized the predicament she was in. She hadn't made any new friends yet…which meant she was going to have to eat lunch alone, something she had never done before. In her old school, she was well liked, but now…she wasn't so sure. When her teacher introduced her to the class, he mentioned that she had lived in the US for a couple of years. As a result, the students were half fascinated, half fearful of her.

"Hey."

Kagome paused but didn't turn around. Was that "hey" directed at her?

"Hey!"

Kagome turned around. A short girl with short hair and short eyebrows was looking at her. She had a timid smile on her face. "Hi," Kagome replied.

"Wanna have lunch with me? We can skip rope after."

Kagome grinned. "Sure."

Why was she even worried? There are a lot of nice people in this world.

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"A sandwich. It's called a sandwich."

Keiko nodded like she knew all about sandwiches. "Right. So, what kind of sand is in your san-do-wich?"

Kagome giggled. "There's no sand in my sandwich. That's just the name." How good would a sandwich taste if it actually had sand in it? She lifted up one piece of bread a little to find out what exactly was in her sandwich. "Mmm, look! My mom made my favourite today - smoked ham with grilled cheese and lettuce."

Keiko nodded again. "So about this 'smoked ham' - "

"It's just meat," Kagome explained patiently. Keiko was nice, but she wasn't very bright. Kagome took a bite of her sandwich, while Keiko gobbled down a sushi.

"So…do you normally eat lunch alone, Keiko?" She hoped this wouldn't be too much of a personal question.

The other girl didn't seem offended. "No, it's just today. One friend stayed home sick today, another friend went on a trip and wouldn't be back 'till next week and another friend…I think she's off hiding somewhere. She promised Emika she'd get her a free manicure from her mom's shop…but poor girl, she's never going to manage that. "

"Oh." Kagome chewed. "Hey - who's that?"

A girl with long, glossy black hair and blonde highlights walked by, chattering away on her cell phone. She was wearing an impossibly short denim skirt which showed off her long, thin legs. Kagome thought she looked beautiful - intimidating, yes - but beautiful.

"That would be Emika, the manicure seeking one. She also happens to be the school's hottest girl. She's a bit of an airhead…" Keiko sighed wistfully. "But she's beautiful. And that's all that matters."

"And let me guess, she's the girlfriend of the hottest _guy _in school right? So typical," Kagome finished.

"Well, actually she's not, surprisingly," Keiko informed her.

Now _this _was something new to Kagome. "Why not?"

"Because the hottest guy is Inuyasha. He's two years ahead of us and he's a total bad boy - you know, getting into fights every other day. I think he only has one more chance before he gets expelled…"

Kagome rolled her eyes, though she tried not to be too obvious. "This makes him so much more appealing though, right?"

A dreamy sigh was her answer. "Sure does. But sadly, girls and him don't mix," Keiko's voice was rather put-out.

"And why not?"

"Well, in all the time he's been at Juban, he's never looked twice at a girl. The shy ones, the loud ones, the tall, the short - " Keiko sighed dejectedly, " - the brainy ones, the dumb ones…even the beautiful and popular - they're all not his type. I don't think he knows girls even exist."

"Well…too bad?" Kagome wasn't the type of girl who cares about this kind of stuff. She took another huge bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. Suddenly she thought of something quite unusual, but very possible. "Hey Keiko?"

"What?" The other girl answered faintly, still lost in her Inuyasha bubble.

"Haven't you ever heard about some guys who only like guys?"

Keiko's Inuyasha bubble burst with an inaudible pop. She blinked. "You mean like gay people?"

Kagome nodded. "You're telling me this Inuyasha guy don't seem to like girls so I just thought that maybe -"

"Oh, my god!" Keiko shrieked. Her eyes were as wide as saucers. "Oh my _god_!" She shouted again.

"What?" Kagome asked nervously. Perhaps she'd just deeply offended her new friend? She sure didn't hope so…

"Nothing! It's just that I think you've solved the Inuyasha mystery!" Keiko's eyes were still very wide. Then she stood up and declared loudly:

"Oh my god! Inuyasha is gay! Just wait 'till everyone hears about this!"

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"So…" Inuyasha drawled. "Why the hell are you doing in here cleaning chalkboards? Last time I checked, what you usually liked to do is dashing outside as soon as break starts to flirt with girls and then letting your hands do the talking and thinking. And then getting slapped a few times. Not volunteering to brush chalkboards."

"People - change - my - friend," Miroku grunted, each word accented by a jump. White chalk marks were on the upper left corner of the blackboard and he _just couldn't reach_!

"Uh huh. I so believe that." Inuyasha plopped down on a desk and watched Miroku suffer with an amused expression.

Finally, the idea that he just wasn't tall enough registered in Miroku's head. He turned around and fixed Inuyasha with a pointed get-your-ass-here-and-help-me look.

Too bad Inuyasha wasn't making eye contact…but he still kind of felt the glare. "I ain't helping you until you tell me why you're here."

The other boy sighed. "Look, last recess I was talking -"

"Flirting."

"- fine, _flirting _with Emika and then Atsushi came -"

"And gave you that big gash on the forehead for flirting with his girlfriend," Inuyasha finished in a bored tone. "Typical."

"Will you let me finish?" Miroku asked, annoyed. "So he pushed me to the ground and I hit my head. I had to think of a way to get outta there in one piece so -"

"You used the Warding-Off-Jealous-Boyfriends-Strategy," Inuyasha interrupted again. "Also typical."

"I figured Atsushi was too dumb to see through it…and I got a little carried away."

Inuyasha's ears perked up with mild interest. "What'd you do?"

"I kinda messed around in his head. I told him that my success with the girls was because of my hands -"

Inuyasha snorted.

"- so now he's probably been slapped a few dozen times. But I forgot to think of what would happen when he finally gets that I made a fool of him," Miroku finished miserably.

"And here I thought you were smart. So what are you gonna do? Brush chalk boards for the rest of the year? He'll find you eventually, you know."

"Yeah I know. I just don't want to get beaten to pulp today. Good thing bull youkai don't have noses like yours."

"Actually, he's a -" Inuyasha broke off. He faced Miroku with a grim expression. "He found you."

Right on cue, the classroom door burst open, revealing a livid Atsushi. His nose ring jingled as he practically breathed fire through his large nostrils.

"YOU!" He roared, black eyes fixed on Miroku. "YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY! I'LL SHOW YOU FUNNY!" His heavy feet shook the floor as he closed the distance between himself and his prey.

Miroku saw the big, meaty fist coming and brought up his arms to protect his head. He braced for the blow -

- but realized it wasn't coming. He opened his eyes and saw Inuyasha quite calmly blocking Atushi's fist with his palm.

"It's your own fault that you're stupid. You can't go around beating people for that."

Atushi snapped out of his shock and narrowed his eyes. His other fist swiftly landed a blow to Inuyasha's right cheek. The hanyou staggered back a little, not prepared for it. Angrily, he lashed back and punched the ox youkai squarely on the nose, effectively breaking it.

Atsushi was surprised at the feel of his own blood trickling out from his nose and then over his mouth and chin. "Fucking asshole! No one makes me bleed my own blood and gets away with it!" Breathing deeply, he eyes rapidly darted around for some kind of weapon. A metal chair was his choice.

"Aaaargh!" The ox cried, about to hurl the chair at Inuyasha.

"_All of you, stop what you're doing!"_

The three boys froze immediately to regard the teacher standing at the doorway. She had her hands on her hips and she was glaring at them as if daring them to challenge her words.

'_Shit.' _Inuyasha thought warily. '_Bye bye Juban._'

Miroku, reading his thoughts, gave Inuyasha an apologetic look. Atushi reluctantly put the chair back on the floor.

"Unbelievable! You three shall report to the principal's office immediately to explain your violent behaviour. I should think you'll all be getting suitable punishment, no matter whose fault it is."

The three teenage boys followed obediently. Atushi was hunched over, shuffling his feet up front, while Inuyasha and Miroku dragged a few feet behind.

"Sorry."

"Keh."

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Kagome self-consciously squeezed her way through the horde of students socializing in the hallway. She kept a nervous smile on her face and focused her eyes on the principal's door at the end of the hallway. She tried her best to ignore the many stares she was getting, even though she had no idea if the feeling behind those looks were positive or negative.

These thoughts fled as she entered the office. She was told she had to pick up some transfer stuff from her old school in America…but there was no one here. The secretary's chair behind the broad, marble counter was empty.

'_Maybe she's not back from lunch yet_,' Kagome reasoned. But what was she supposed to do here? Wait here? Or come back later?

She decided to wait. Keiko had disappeared somewhere and it wasn't like she had anything better to do. She'll wait until the bell rings, then if no one arrives, she'll just come back after class.

'_Somewhere to sit would be nice.' _Looking around, Kagome spotted a comfy looking couch placed against a corner, right beside the principal's office.

There was someone sitting on it.

Kagome jumped; she hadn't noticed at all. But no wonder. A boy slightly older than herself was comfortably spread out on the couch, fast asleep. His head was lolled to one side, and he was using his arm as a pillow.

Kagome unconsciously crept closer. She had trouble seeing his face…he had pulled up the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and it covered his face a little. What she could undeniably see was a mass of silver hair, fanned out on the couch.

Quite suddenly, Kagome was hit by a wave of déjà vu.

It was because of his hair…she was almost sure she had seen that specific silver somewhere before…yet the memory was too far out of her reach for her to grasp. She struggled to remember…

But she just couldn't. It was too foreign; there was too little familiarity. She brushed it off as unimportant.

So Kagome stared some more. His face, she decided, was okay to look at, and could even be considered 'hot'. She looked closer, and felt herself getting a little sad as what she saw. It was his expression; his face was arranged like someone who had just let out an enormous sigh - full of resignation and weariness. She just knew she would be remembering this face for a long time.

Yup…trust Kagome to look notice way beyond what was expected for her age…

She didn't know what to do. To any other person this was just a simple situation…but Kagome felt stranded. She could very well brush off this boy's apparent sorrow and walk away. Of course, this means that she would then spend a good chunk of her time thinking about it and then the nagging sentence of '_you could've done something' _would be wriggling in her mind and then she would regret it.

So, just because Kagome was Kagome, she decided to do something about it. And she knew just what she was going to do.

After a few minutes of rummaging in her backpack, Kagome pulled out her personal sticky notes. They were rose-shaped, rose scented and rose-decorated; her favourite sticky notes in the whole world. She had gotten two packs and a matching journal as an eleventh birthday present.

Taking out a black pen, she scribbled a quick "Chin Up!" on the note. As an afterthought, she drew her signature rose at the bottom corner, then peeled the piece of paper off. Note stuck on her fingers, she stood up and proceeded to walk over to the boy. He was still immersed deeply in la-la land.

Quietly, Kagome bent over and gently plastered her note on the front on his sweatshirt, where she decided was a visible enough spot. Mood lifting already, she straightened up and walked softly out the door.

Inuyasha slept.

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A/N: Man oh man, did I drag it out. I originally planned this chapter to be a quarter of the length that it is...but as you can see, I got lil carried away. Before you ask, yes, this is the LAST part of the prologue. I swear. I'll be working on chapter one, when the story will actually start.

...Feedback is appreciated.


	3. Chapter One: Third Time's The Charm

AN: Yea! Another chapter done! (just forget the fact that I took close to forever...) I wanted to get two chapters before school starts, but school starts in four days... and I can't write that fast... But don't woryy! I have every intention of finishing this story, so even if updates are slow for the next ten months... just know that I'm working on it!

Disclaimer: Damn. I'm getting tired of these things. From now on 'till the end of the story, refer to the disclaimers of the prologue. So nyah.

_**Jiwe Presents:**_

_**Hearts Ilusion--- Chapter One: Third Time's The Charm**_

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"Inu-chaaaaan!"

Inuyasha put his coffee cup down and looked up and saw the owner of that overly sweet voice sashaying towards him. Hips swinging, eyelashes batting and lips curled up seductively, he saw his girlfriend catch the eye of every male in the coffee shop. He knew it should've bothered him, but it didn't. Not even the slightest.

"Hey babe." Inuyasha's smile was strained.

Iyo didn't seem to notice. Instead of sitting across from Inuyasha, she sidled in right beside him and made herself nice and cosy against his chest. She then proceeded to kiss him senseless on the mouth…but ended up kissing his cheek instead. She looked up at him, hurt and confusion written all over her face.

"Iyo," Inuyasha said, prying her hands off of his arm. He looked squarely into her heavily made eyes and let the bomb drop…"I don't think we should see each other anymore."

Silently he waited. First would come the trembling of the lips.

Iyo's lips trembled pathetically.

Second would be the salty water forming in the eyes.

Iyo's eyes filled up.

Third would be either a, full out sobbing and banging against his chest asking "_Why? What did I doooo?"_; b, slap him across the cheek in full blown rage; or c, pretend nothing had happened and abruptly change the topic.

Iyo was type a. Inuyasha hoped she wouldn't, but she did. Her sleek black hair was mussed up and her makeup was ruined terribly. It didn't seem to matter to her that they were currently in a nearly full coffee shop, bursting with people.

"Whyyyyyyy Inuyasha?" She wailed, "We were fine yesterday - hic - it is me - sniffle - because I can change, you know - hic - I would do anything -"

"Iyo, sweetheart, it's not you at all - here -" Inuyasha hastily snatched up his neatly folded napkin on the table and handed it to his blubbering, hiccupping mess of an ex-girlfriend. She took it and blew her nose. "It's just that I don't feel the same way about you as I did before."

Ouch. She took one look at him…and resumed the waterworks.

After Iyo had calmed somewhat, Inuyasha tried again. "Iyo…you are a beautiful, charming woman. Any man would be lucky to have you, just not me. I'm sure you would find someone that can make you happy…and that is not me either. So…I'm sorry." Inuyasha really wanted to get out of there, but he couldn't do that until Iyo moves…

His ex took a moment to contemplate his words and then blew her nose again. "Fine," she said in a cool voice. Inuyasha was taken aback by the sudden change of demeanour. "_Fine_," she said again, more vehemently. She rose abruptly and shuffled jerkily out of the seat. Fully upright again, she turned, took one step, stopped, changed her mind, and whirled back to face Inuyasha. A dirty look was all the warning he got before she swung her turquoise purse to give him a big, meaty whack upside the head.

Unfortunately for her, it didn't actually achieve the desired outcome; Inuyasha just felt like a pillow had crashed into his head, being a hanyou and all. He was more surprised than anything - he'd never dated a girl who was a mix of both _a _and _c_.

"You're such a jerk Inuyasha! I wouldn't be surprised if you dumped me for a man! ARGH!" Were Iyo's parting words before she stomped out of the café.

Inuyasha blinked and then sighed in annoyance. He had no idea where or who started it …but ever since his second year in middle school, there was the rumour flying around saying he was gay. To prove that he was indeed, heterosexual, he resorted to becoming a ladies man. If he dated more, he figured, there was a greater chance that he would find _her…_

It wasn't until after he drained all of his coffee - now cold - that he noticed everything was oddly silent…no sound of the normal chatter in a café.

Everyone was staring at him.

He cleared his throat. "What are you all gawking at? Don't you know the words of an angry ex are never true?"

Eventually the looks of curiosity/disgust/disappointment (the ladies) became neutral and everyone returned to their own business…though there were still quite a few pairs of suspicious eyes that followed him as he exited the café.

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Grandpa Higurashi grunted as he carried a fairly large cardboard box of tourist souvenirs across the open courtyard.

"Too old for this…leaving me here by myself…no help…ungrateful bunch…" He grumbled as he huffed and puffed. Finally, he reached the shrine's little shop and set the box down with a relieved sigh.

"Now…to get the mail…" Wearily, he made his way to the endless shrine stairs and began to descend, step by step.

"Darn that postman and his complaints…he needs the exercise…can't even make it convenient for me and deliver it to my doorstep…leaving it up to an aged man such as myself climbing down all these stairs…one of these days…"

His temper rose word after word, which in turn made him unconsciously speed up. By the time he reached the last couple of steps, he was going at a faster pace than any man his age should have.

Suddenly, Grandpa Higurashi lost his footing on the last step. He let out a surprised cry as his knees crumpled beneath him.

There was nothing to break his fall…

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"The egg _had _to have came first."

"Nuh-uh. How was there an egg when there was no chicken? The chicken must have came first."

"Well then, where did _that _chicken come from?"

"_Not _from an egg. It might've been the mutated kid of another similar animal -"

"_Which came from an egg!"_

"How do _you _know? It could've been born like a mammal, right out of the stomach!"

Kagome glanced at Ayumi, who met her eyes with a what-can-you-do look. Following a chain of odd discussions and information starting during the day, Eri and Yuka had somehow arrived at a heated argument over the classic question of "which came first, the chicken or the egg?".

Kagome and Ayumi, the only sane ones in the group who knew better than to interrupt, simply walked silently behind their loudly bickering friends.

"Just stop it Eri, and admit I'm right! And then maybe we can finally move on with life!"

"Yuka!" barked the girl in response, "Repeat after me: the chicken came first."

"Fine! The _egg _of the chicken came first!"

"No!"

"_Yes_! Just think about it, Eri, _there can't be a chicken if there was no egg!_"

"But there can't be an egg if there was no chicken - "

Kagome didn't think she ever felt this relieved when they arrived at the intersection where she separated from her friends for the direction of her apartment. "Bye guys! See you tomorrow!"

Eri and Yuka barely spared Kagome a wave before they resumed their chicken-egg war.

"Kagome, you can't leave me like this!" cried Ayumi desperately. The girl only laughed as she crossed the road happily, a bounce in her step.

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Mama Higurashi let out a sigh of contentment as soon as she stepped into her apartment. She'd have to say home is her favourite place to be. The quietness didn't surprise her - on weekdays she usually had an hour of peace before the bantering started.

She threw her keys into the clay bowl Souta had made in art class in fifth grade and then relieved her feet of her working heels by slipping them into the yellow furry slippers Kagome had bought her last mother's day. Humming softly to herself, she went to her bedroom to change.

Mama Higurashi had just taken her routinely break and was about to start dinner when the chirping ring tone of the phone sounded.

"Hello?" She answered pleasantly.

"Hi - is this the Higurashi residence?" said a male voice.

Mama Higurashi was not familiar with the voice. She certainly hoped it wasn't another boy asking for Kagome. Those had become quite troublesome ever since her daughter had turned sixteen. "Yes - may I ask who's calling?" she asked warily.

"I'm Dr. Chiba calling from Tokyo General Hospital - "

Her heart skipped a beat.

" - we've just received a patient, Shougo Higurashi - are you his daughter?"

Heart pounding, she replied shakily, "Y-yes. Yes, I am. Please doctor, d-did something happen to him? I-is he alright? Is he - "

"Ms. Higurashi, your father has obtained injuries this afternoon, presumably by slipping and falling while going down steps. He is in stable condition - ", she finally let out the breath she'd been holding, " - but he will need to be hospitalised for at least a few months. It's probably best if you come right away, he'll need someone to take care of him and such."

"R-right…of course." Her face had gone pale.

"You'll need to write down the room number. He's in a large hospital."

Quickly she snatched up the whiteboard marker resting on the ledge of the small whiteboard. It was quite convenient for times like these that the whiteboard was hung right beside the phone.

"O-ok. I'm ready."

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"Mom I'm home!"

"Kagome! Oh, Kagome - we have to leave now - when's Souta coming home? Quick, get out your suitcase and start packing - "

Kagome was too surprised to do anything. Her mother was frantically stuffing random things into their large travelling suitcase - hairbrushes, toothbrushes, shirts, bras - she whizzed from bedroom to bathroom, moving so fast she was practically a blur.

"Mom - what's happening? Why are we leaving? Where are we going?" There was a note of alarm in Kagome's voice.

Her mother stopped moving and regarded her with a strained look. "Grandpa's in the hospital. A doctor just called and told me he fell down some steps and has some serious injuries," she said, quoting the doctor's words, "He said grandpa's stable but he's going to be in the hospital for at least a few months and there's no one to take care of him so we have to go," She finished speedily and dumped an armful of clothes into the half full case.

It took about five seconds for the news to register, replacing Kagome's bubbly mood with worry. The first thing she did was wrap her arms around her mother's shoulders and squeezed her comfortingly.

"It's ok, mama. Grandpa's going to be ok. We're going to take such good care of him that he'll be back in no time!" Kagome smiled encouragingly, to which her mother returned with a thin smile of her own.

"Yes. Yes he will. But we've got to hurry - go and pack what you need so we can - "

The door opened again. "Hey mom, sis!"

Both women acknowledged him by only a brief glance.

"Get packing," they both ordered simultaneously.

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Two-and-a-half hours later, the three Higurashi's were promptly stuck in traffic.

"Oh god - come on! Move!" Kagome said through gritted teeth. She had taken over the wheel to give her mother a break. She didn't mind - she's loved driving ever since she passed her test last month.

But now she was sorely regretting the decision.

"Hey sis, did you know that people who often get stuck in traffic jams have a higher risk of having heart attacks?"

Kagome's hand twitched on the steering wheel. "Are you implying something, you little twerp!"

"And did you know that's because of the stress and the frustration?" Souta chirped again.

Kagome let out a irritated "Urrrrgh!" and Mama Higurashi took the hint.

"Souta, please be quiet. And Kagome dear, would you like me to drive? I think I've had a long enough rest."

Kagome took one look at her mother's tired eyes and decided against it. "It's ok, mama. I can handle it - _finally we're moving_!" Almost gleefully, she pushed down on the gas pedal, and they were going ten…twenty…thirty kilometres per hour.

Kagome slowly relaxed when she noticed they were travelling faster than people walking on the sidewalk… it was extremely irksome for her to watch people and bicycles whiz past her when she was sitting in a _car._

A _vroom vroom _sound became louder as the vehicle of which it was coming from came closer. The noise pretty much drowned out all other traffic commotion…and it was, in Kagome's opinion, irritable and unnecessary.

In Kagome's humble opinion, the vehicles who made that sound were motorcycles and fancy sports cars. Also in Kagome's opinion, the drivers of those vehicles are obnoxious people who uses that annoying _vroom vroom _to attract attention so that others can ogle over their ride… or at the very least, turn their heads as they drive by.

_Vroom vroom vroom!_

"Seriously… can't these people just give it a rest?" Kagome grumbled to herself.

She glanced at the rear view mirror and sure enough, there was a bright red sports car vrooming its way closer to her. When it drove past her and then swerved right so that it was directly in front of her, she couldn't help but note it was a Porsche. And here she was in a four year old Toyota Camry. Nope, she was not jealous. Not jealous at all.

The Porsche sped up. Kagome followed closely behind. She was going fourty…fourty-five…fifty - the Porsche was still accelerating - fifty-five -

_Screech! _The red Porsche had come to a sudden halt.

Within a split second, Kagome stomped down on the brake as well, causing her tires to squeal against the concrete. As hard as she might push on the brake, she lived on a planet with friction. With wide, horrified eyes, she watched as her car skidded closer and closer to the car in front of her…

_Thunk. _

Silence.

Crap! That did NOT just happen… Her car did NOT just -

"Oh my god, Kagome! We just crashed into the wickedest Porsche ever - !" yelled Souta.

"Oh dear…" breathed Mama Higurashi. "Oh _dear_… we'd better pull over…"

Numbly, Kagome did so. When she had parked the car out mainstream traffic, she saw that the Porsche had pulled over as well, stopping directly in front of her.

Two doors opened simultaneously, and Souta and her mother stepped out. Kagome sidled out slower, with less enthusiasm.

When she emerged from the car, she saw a person - or rather, the legs of the person (her mother and Souta blocked her view) - bent down, inspecting the damage. She gulped, hoping that it wasn't too bad.

Face pink with embarrassment, Kagome shuffled closer. In about five steps, she was beside her mom, just as the person straightened up.

Red, silver and gold, was her first thought.

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AN: Was that a cliffhanger...?

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews so far! Appreciate it a lot. Just to let you guys know, I can take constructive criticism. Really.

...Keep telling me what you guys like/hate about this story!


	4. Chapter Two: Acquaintance

**Author's Notes:** Whoo! Back with another chapter! ...Told you this story isn't dead! Summer's here in two weeks, which means I will most definately be updating on a regular basis. I'm hoping to get the majority of this fic done by the start of the school year but there's still _a lot _of chapters ahead...we'll see how things go.

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**Heart's Illusion   
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**Chapter 2**

** Acquaintance**

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Kagome was at a loss for words. She wasn't sure if it was because she was in the presence of the hottest guy on the planet or the fact that she had single-handedly destroyed a car that was probably worth more than her apartment. "Um…"

The Porsche guy leaned casually against the side of his damaged ride and let out a noticeable sigh. "Look…I'm kind of in a hurry right now… "

The surly tone of his voice didn't go unnoticed by Kagome. Her pink blush now morphed into full-blown shade of red.

"Yes – I'm terribly sorry for what has happened here, we will of course compensate for all of your damages…let me just call up my insurance company and we'll have this sorted as quickly as possible." Kagome's mother hurriedly rummaged through her purse…for about a full minute. She looked up at the Porsche guy and gave an apologetic smile. "It should be in here somewhere…"

Kagome watched as the Porsche guy tossed her mother an annoyed look and pointedly glanced at his watch. Her dreamy expression dissipated slightly. Granted, he did have the right to feel peeved but that didn't give him the permission to act so _rude_.

Figures…what more can she expect from rich snobs like him…with his car that must have cost a bomb…his obvious designer wear…and his salon-treated, bleached hair.

"Oh Kagome…I think I've lost the number…is it stored in your phone by any chance?" Mama Higurashi gave her daughter a hopeful look.

"Huh?" was Kagome's intelligent reply. The Porsche guy snorted and she felt her blush intensify again. What was wrong with her? Why should she care if he was a rich big shot? "Sorry mom…what did you say?" she asked sheepishly.

Souta rolled his eyes. "She SAID if you had the insurance company's NUMBER."

"Oh…um…let me check." Kagome pulled out her cell from her pocket and hastily scrolled down her address book. "Nope…don't see it…"

Inuyasha was getting a bit frustrated…he really _was _in a hurry. "This is taking too long…" Inuyasha muttered to himself as he watched the lady and her daughter fumble around nervously. He sighed impatiently. "Hey, I don't know about you, but I really don't have the time right now to wait for you to find a number."

Instantly Kagome's blush vanished. She shot him a measuring look. "It's not like we're stalling on purpose either. We're also in a hurry, and we'd like to get on with our lives too."

Inuyasha met the girl's brown eyes, a little bemused by her sudden change in demeanour. He could have sworn she was just blushing furiously at the sight of him. How strange…but he didn't have time to ponder such things right now. "If that's the case, then I'm leaving." He straightened up. "Just forget about my car, that's not important right now." He directed a curt nod to the Higurashis and opened his car door.

Huh?

"Hey, wait! You – you don't want any compensation? I mean, I _did _just smash in the back of your car…" Kagome faltered at the bemused look the Porsche guy was giving her.

"You're a weird one." Inuyasha slid into the driver's seat and ignited the engine.

The Higurashis stepped out of the way as the red sports car backed slowly to make space for turning onto the main road.

Kagome cocked her head slightly. "Mom, do you think we should just let him leave like this?"

Souta snorted. "You're making it sound like _we're _the ones who got hit. Of course we should let him go! That's a shit load of money that he just saved us!"

Mama Higurashi tutted disapprovingly at her son's crude language. "I really don't know Kagome…I do feel a bit uneasy for just leaving it like this. It was our fault after all."

A loud _vroom _indicated the Porsche and its owner was about to take their leave.

"Wait!" Kagome ran up to driver's side and bent down to peer through the tinted window.

Now what does she want…he stated explicitly that he didn't care for what little compensation they had to offer. With an impatient sigh, he pressed the button to roll down the window, only to reveal Kagome's smiling face.

It was like a slap across Inuyasha's face – he was suddenly overcome with this inexplicable feeling. He'd never felt anything like it before – he couldn't even identify it. It was the girl's smile…there was something odd about it…

Where had he seen that particular smile before? Or was he imagining things? _'It must be the summer heat getting to my head…'_

" – or we'd feel guilty. So what do you think?"

Inuyasha blinked. "Uh…sure. Here – " Inuyasha handed her his business card. "I guess you can just call me or something."

Kagome took the card and read the first line. "Thanks…Mr. Takahashi." She smiled.

Inuyasha nodded distractedly. There was that smile again… But he brushed it off. She probably looked like one of his many forgotten girlfriends or something…With that logical explanation, Inuyasha rolled up his window and stepped on the gas pedal.

…and left the Higurashis sputtering due to the thick particles of dust his tires conjured.

Souta let out a loud sneeze. "Ugh…I'm gonna get a rash from my dust allergy soon…"

"Come on kids, we should get going. Grandpa's still waiting for us."

As Mama Higurashi started the engine, Kagome silently studied the business card she was given. It was the most decorative business card she'd ever seen, with the letters printed in gold, bold lettering and protruding slightly to give it a different texture.

'_Inuyasha Takahashi. Head of Supplies Department. Takahashi Hotels. Business telephone: 52345 – wait, TAKAHASHI HOTELS? The internationally renowned hotel chain?! And head of a department?' _Kagome was awed…

But then she groaned pathetically as realized what that meant. Kagome was an optimistic person. She had thought that maybe there was a slimmest of chances that the Porsche didn't belong to the guy …but now she knew. Out of all the cars she could have destroyed, it just HAD to be some rich dude's Porsche…her family's entire savings probably wouldn't even be enough to buy a tire for that kind of car.

Kagome sighed dejectedly. Takahashi…Inuyasha Takahashi.

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"Grandpa!"

"Mm…I got it! I got a big one! No…it's mine…I caught it first…get off…GET OFF!"

Kagome and Souta exchanged a quizzical look, and then rushed to their grandfather's side, who was still muttering nonsense.

"Oh grandpa…" Kagome felt her heart squeeze as she took in her grandpa's dishevelled state. His right leg was entirely bounded by a huge white cast and slung up to a contraption at the foot of his bed, and there was a black wrist brace enclosed around his left hand.

Mama Higurashi gently brushed off a few stray grey hairs out of her father's closed eyes.

"BAHAHAHA! I won – you lost! Mm…come here my precious…"

A brief awkward silence followed since the three conscience Higurashis didn't know what to make of that dreamy outburst. It was broken by a loud, hearty yawn from grandpa Higurashi.

"Dad?" Mama Higurashi voiced uncertainly.

Slowly grandpa Higurashi cracked open an eye. He blinked. A confused frown settled over his features. "Daughter?" He turned his head. "Kagome? Souta? What are you people doing here?"

Mama Higurashi breathed a sigh of relief. "The hospital called and told us you were in a nasty fall. Of course we had drop everything and rush here."

Kagome couldn't hold it any longer. She threw herself at her grandpa's chest. "We're so glad your ok…"

Even Souta didn't want to feel left out. "We missed you grandpa…"

Grandpa sniffed indignantly. "Sure you missed me. That's why you lot haven't come to visit me since Christmas. I suppose I should be thankful…now that I know it only takes something as serious as a life-threatening fall to chase you all down here."

A pained expression settled across Mama's face. "Dad…you know it's not like that…I only have a few days off a year…Kagome and Souta both have school…"

Kagome twiddled her fingers guiltily. "I'm sorry grandpa…I've been so caught up in school. It's my last year…and life's been hectic with university preparations and all…I'm really sorry."

"I'm sorry too grandpa…soccer's been eating up my life. I hardly have time for anything else."

_Little twerp…don't think I don't know what you've been up to these days…chasing after that Hitomi girl… _"But grandpa guess what! Since school is over for Souta and me, mom has decided to take a two-month leave off work. We're going to live with you at the Shrine for the whole summer!" Kagome indicated the group of large luggage bags sitting on the floor.

Grandpa tried not to look too gleeful. He cleared his throat and declared matter-of-factly, "Well in that case…I _guess _I can forgive you all."

Souta let out a cheer and Mama Higurashi smiled.

Mama Higurashi pulled a chair for herself and started peeling an apple. "Your doctor said you'll be ready to go home in two weeks at the latest," she informed her father brightly.

"Oh good…I don't think I'm quite used to this hospital life. Every time I close my eyes I have this dream about catching this huge talking fish…"

Souta smirked. "Maybe it's a fish spirit that's haunting you."

"Ah! The fish spirit! That reminds me of a story that told of a great fish guardian spirit in the South Japan Sea…"

Kagome sat at the foot of the bed and feigned a look of great interest as her grandpa chattered happily with his story.

_Great…grandpa's problem's all solved…now what am I going to do about that Porsche…_

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Inuyasha drummed his claws absently on the mahogany meeting table. There was a certain quality in this Mr. Yamashita's voice that made it _so _easy tune out. At least he had enough experience to master the skill of looking alert while his mind drifted out to the world…

But at least he was on time today. Punctuality was a very important aspect in this business. A one-minute difference is all it takes to leave a bad impression on your client and lose your contract and have everybody toss you dirty looks for the remainder of the month. Unfortunately he learned that the hard way.

And today, history almost repeated itself…

When Inuyasha saw that the Tokyo traffic was not going to have mercy on him, he all but abandoned his ride on the side of the road and went skyscraper hopping. _Thank God for my hanyou blood…_

"Our Spa collection is world renowned for its unique moisturizing ingredients. It will surely satisfy every one of your hotel customers…"

Right. That's why they are gathered here in the first place – to negotiate this contract. Takahashi Hotels would never settle for anything second best.

Inuyasha wondered how his Porsche was doing… If any towing truck dared come close to his pride and joy, he would personally make sure their little business gets wiped off from the face of the earth.

So why then, he wondered, was he only slightly perturbed by the girl who smashed the back end of his car?

Actually…he _was _about to let the idiots suffer his infamous rage…but all fire vanished the moment he saw the girl and her tomato-coloured face.

He smirked when he remembered her doe-caught-in-headlights expression when she first saw him. It wasn't the first time a girl was flustered by his appearance and it certainly won't be the last.

But he frowned slightly when he recalled what happened after. He still couldn't figure out what was different about that girl's smile. Something has been nagging him in the back of his mind but he just didn't know what it was. It was like reaching for an object and only being able to touch it with his fingertips, but never fully getting a hold of it.

And it in the end, it only left him feeling frustrated.

Loud applause suddenly halted Inuyasha's train of thought. The meeting was over and Inuyasha stood up to shake hands with his new supplier. It was another successful collaboration done and dusted. He was too good at his job.

Ok…now it was time to go collect his Porsche.

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Kagome sighed blissfully as collapsed onto her pink clad bed with a soft 'oof'. Having used this room for 15 years of her life has created some sort of attachment. She didn't think she'd ever feel this content in any other place.

She surveyed her room and to her satisfaction, found that everything was exactly as she remembered. But of course, it was a little empty, considering she'd taken most of her things to the apartment. Quickly she set to work, taking out random things from her suitcases and placing them in various locations around her room.

"Kagome!" came her mother's voice. "I'm doing laundry – is there anything you want washed?"

"Uh – yeah! Hold on a minute!" Kagome looked at outfit she was wearing earlier draped over her desk chair. She pulled a face as she saw the thick layer of dust covering it. She plucked those up and proceeded downstairs.

"Here mom…"

Her mother looked up from where she was sorting the laundry. "Thanks dear…just leave them here. Oh! But check the pockets first."

Kagome checked. Her fingers closed around something…

Oh. It was that Takahashi dude's business card.

Kagome eyed it warily. "Hey mom…do you think I should… call the guy right now?" Kagome asked hesitantly.

Mama Higurashi tossed Souta's white-turned-grey shirt in the 'light' basket. "Hm? What guy are you talking about dear?"

"That Porsche guy…"

"Oh! The guy with the cute puppy ears you mean."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Uh…yeah. Him."

Mama Higurashi stopped her actions and straightened up to look at her daughter in the eye. "I don't know if you realize this dear… but your grandpa's hospital expenses…they're quite a lot – more than I imagined. And now, that young man's car…I just don't know if we're able to pull that off. Our insurance company's not going pay for all of it…70 at the most."

Kagome was silent…she hated herself right at the moment. But looking at her mom she knew that she was going to have to deal with this issue herself. "Mom, don't worry about it. It was my fault so I'm going to find a way to solve this."

Mama Higurashi regarded her daughter's determined face with a thoughtful expression. Her eyes twinkled as she said, "Alright dear. You find a way."

Kagome blinked. She half-expected her mother to blatantly refuse and say something along the lines of "Oh no dear! I couldn't let worry about this all by yourself!". Hm…what was her mother up to?

But either way…she was now on her own. Back in her room, Kagome flopped down on her bed and once again found herself staring at the small rectangular card.

Several minutes and an internal battle later, Kagome reached for her cell phone.

The first ring nearly made Kagome end the call. But Kagome quashed her nervousness and waited for the second ring. And third. Then fourth…

"Inuyasha Takahashi here."

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**AN**: Hm...I wonder how the phone call is gonna go...Review please :D


	5. Chapter Three: At the End of the Day

**A/N: Hey everyone!** **My bad for not updating as fast as I thought I would. Advice: do not take the accelerated course for physics during the summer.**

**Disclaimer: refer to chapter 3  
**

**Without further ado!**

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**Heart's Illusion  
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**Chapter 3  
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**At the End of the Day  
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Kagome's heartbeat sped up as she opened her mouth to reply. "H-hi. This is Kagome Higurashi…I was just wondering if—" She cut herself short when she heard a peculiar sound resonate out from the phone.

_Is this guy…growling?_

"Hel…lo?" Kagome said uncertainly.

"Look Miss Kyoko, I'm flattered you've taken such a great interest in me, even to the extent that you'd actually hunt down my number, but I'm not interested. So save your breath and better luck next time." _Click. _

Kagome lowered her cell phone away from her ear and stared at the 'call ended' message across the screen in disbelief. What…had just happened?

She chewed her lip. Okay…so she bravely dialled the Porsche guy's number, nervous as heck. He picked up. She opened her mouth and introduced herself…so far so good. Next is where it gets a little cloudy. She _thinks _he may have growled at her. He rudely called her "Miss Kyoko". He said that she'd taken an interest in him, but he was not interested, and then told her better luck next time.

Kagome inhaled sharply. What in the world was that guy thinking?! Had he no shame? Kagome snatched up her cell phone from where she last flung it on her bed and punched the redial button rather vehemently.

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_Four Hours Earlier_

Loud pop-rock music resonated out into the open. Inuyasha glanced at the caller ID and promptly went back to signing papers.

He pretended it was simply the radio and even started to hum a little. It was what seemed like a long time before the room was quiet again.

_Ah…finally some peace._

No sooner than his mind's voice had stopped speaking, his mobile sprang to life again.

Inuyasha's eye twitched.

The double doors to his office was flung open rather noisily to reveal a woman with an extremely peeved expression.

"Inuyasha! Would you please just answer your damn phone! Goodness!" After throwing him one last annoyed look, Sango shut the door behind her with a curt thud.

Inuyasha frowned and shouted after her, "Let me remind you, that was your _boss_ you were just yelling at!"

His phone continued to blast out music.

Inuyasha finally snatched it up and tapped the accept button with his claw. "What?" he barked.

"Next time if you ignore my call I will personally make sure the media follows you around for at least a month."

"Shit Sesshomaru…that's harsh."

Insert the usual five-minute exchange of profanity and insults here.

"Cut to the chase. Why do I have to hear your monotone voice again?"

"Do you suppose I like dirtying my ears with your foolish babbling?" Sesshomaru replied in his most exaggerated emotionless voice. "You're attending the celebration party of the Takahashi-Yamashita contract."

"Fuck no! Don't you know that I—"

"Hate these public engagements? Why yes, as you've made it blatantly obvious. Your point is?" Sesshomaru drawled in a bored tone.

Inuyasha growled in frustration. He knew the battle was lost even before it had begun. "Fine. Tell me where the fuck it is and when."

"Good to see you've finally learned how to cooperate without a hassle—"

"Screw you Sesshomaru!"

"—but I see your manners still need some work. Miroku will send you a memo. You have a week to blackmail a female to be your date. Know that I will not tolerate any homosexual rumours coming from the media—"

"How many fucking times do I have to tell you this! I am not—"

_Click. _

Inuyasha growled menacingly at the phone for a few moments before stomping off to the smoking room in his office. A couple of drags of poisonous gas later, his system had calmed down somewhat, but still not completely. After some contemplation, Inuyasha decided he was in desperate need of some fresh air. He grabbed his suit jacket and took his usual route out: through the window.

He went to his favourite bar and grill, which was only a street away from the massive Takahashi office building. His usual seat wasn't even warmed by his behind yet when his poor nose was assaulted with a suffocating, artificial smell of flowers. Inuyasha shifted his gaze to the origin of the odour, just in time to catch the wink of a curvaceous girl, sidling up to the vacant chair beside him. Inuyasha gave the girl a once-over. Long, sleek black hair, pretty face, gorgeous long legs…Not bad.

Time to have some fun. "Hey there beautiful," he said in a low, husky voice. "I've never seen you around here before. Where are you from?"

The girl giggled in the typical flirtatious fashion, but didn't reply.

Something came up as odd to Inuyasha, but he was too distracted by the girl's hand resting on his thigh to notice.

The girl seemed to be quiet bold type, as both of her hands were now pressed snugly on Inuyasha's chest.

Low wolf whistles sounded all around them.

Inuyasha smirked. "Looks like we have an audience. How about we continue this elsewhere?"

The girl nodded rather quickly and took Inuyasha's hand.

The wind was blowing rather too viciously for June weather. Quickly Inuyasha led them behind the restaurant and into a narrow, deserted alleyway created by two large buildings.

"There…now it's not too windy, ne?"

The girl smiled brightly and nodded.

_Still playing shy are we? _"Now…if I remember correctly your hands were here," Inuyasha placed the girl's hands around his neck. He continued with his husky voice. "And we were about to do _this_…"

The girl was already in ready position—eyes closed, lips puckered. Inuyasha placed a hand on her jaw line and leaned in…

…when suddenly a huge gust of wind chose that time to sweep in.

Inuyasha's lips were a mere two millimetres away from its target when something black plopped onto the ground.

He stopped his actions and stooped down to pick it up. "Hey. I think you dropped this—"

Inuyasha stopped in mid-sentence and gaped when he caught a glance of his companion. _What the hell!?_

The girl's hand flew to her head in surprise. "Oops! I guess the wind must have blown it off."

"Your hair—your _voice_—!" Inuyasha sputtered.

"What?"

Inuyasha recoiled to the wall in horror. He scrutinized the "girl" more closely and found his confirmation—the lump protruding out from the person's throat, the only part of the anatomy that ruined the whole disguise.

The cross-dresser tossed Inuyasha an irritated look. "Do wig-wearing people offend you or something?"

"No! Just transvestites like you!" Inuyasha choked out. He pointed an accusatory finger at who he thought was an attractive woman. "You tricked me! You're a damn drag queen!"

"And you're gay." The newly morphed guy crossed his arms. "What's your point?"

"I—am—not—GAY!" Inuyasha heaved.

"Sure kid, that's what they all say. But you know, there's nothing wrong with having different…preferences."

"Shut up! I thought you were a girl!"

"Oh please." The queen rolled his make-up covered eyes. "Come up with something more original would you…it gets boring after a while to get complimented on my cross-dressing abilities _all _the time."

Inuyasha honestly felt a little queasy right then. There was something about looking at an apparent girl speak with a masculine voice that just didn't agree with him. But he's had enough to last him a lifetime. "Whoever you are just leave me alone, ok? Thanks for giving me the worst experience I've ever had in my life. Now beat it."

The queen pouted. "Getting awfully rude, are we? How about this…you give me that kiss you owe me and then we'll get on our way," He put a finger on his chin thoughtfully, "you know, so I can have something to remember you by."

"I'm gonna gag…" Inuyasha muttered. He glared daggers at the abnormal creature smirking in front of him, finally somewhat overcoming his shock. "Stop dreaming. If you won't leave then I will. After that we'll have nothing to do with each other—"

"But why! I promise you'll like it! They always do!"

That was it. Without another word, Inuyasha leapt to the top of the brick building he was just leaning against in a near-breakdown. He heard the queen squeal in delight at his "dashing" abilities and felt utterly disgusted.

He was mid-air propelling towards another building when he suddenly realized something important and turned back. "Dammit…"

The fruitcake was still there, fixing his lipstick with a compact mirror.

"Hey you!"

The queen looked up. "Oh it's you again! Wow I didn't think you'd change your mind so quick—"

"Shut up," Inuyasha snapped. "I want to confirm something with you. Do you know who I am?" _Shit…what if he knows that I'm Inuyasha Takahashi? _

The queen raised his eyebrows. "What, you a wanted criminal or something?"

_By the media. _"Maybe…just answer the damn question!"

"Ooh I just love feisty ones like you! Men like you are awfully good in bed…"

Inuyasha grimaced. "I might show you my skills if you answer my question." Yes, he was desperate.

The queen squealed in pure female fashion. "Oh my god this is _so _exciting! Question? What question? Ohhhh….the question. Well…to tell the truth, I don't really know you, no—"

"What a relief." With that, Inuyasha leapt up once again and put all his energy into distancing himself from his day-time nightmare. He finally slowed to a stop when arrived on the top of Takahashi headquarters building, and took out a cig.

After one blissful inhale of smoke, his mind finally caught up.

"What the hell just happened…"

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_Present_

Inuyasha threw his mobile on his grand mahogany work desk with disgust. How do these people get their hands on his number? He was _not _in a mood to be bothered, especially by fantasizing, obsessed girls with no shame. After the horrifying experience earlier in the afternoon, he didn't think he would be taking an interest in anybody soon.

He rubbed his temples in a manner beyond his years. "Dammit…I think I'm scarred for life…"

No sooner than the words were out of Inuyasha's mouth, his cell started vibrating violently again.

"Don't tell me…" Inuyasha cautiously peered at the caller ID. The black block letters spelled out _Kagome Higurashi_. "That's one hell of a stubborn girl…" And then he promptly stabbed the "decline" button.

The quiet lasted for all of six seconds before Inuyasha swore with feeling. "Stupid girl! Stop calling—oh." It wasn't Keiko or whatever this time. "Higurashi Shrine? Why is a shrine calling me?" The only related word he knew to "shrine" was "Miroku", who was always bragging about his so-called spiritual ancestors.

Inuyasha braced himself and then pressed 'accept'. "Hello?"

"Mr. Takahashi this is—_don't you hang up on me!_"

Something about the girl's tone of voice halted Inuyasha from increasing the pressure on the 'I-don't-want-to-talk-you' button.

"This is Kagome Higurashi, I called about two seconds ago which I'm sure you know but _purposely _didn't pick up, and the call before subjected me to _extremely rude _treatment for no reason at all—"

Inuyasha blinked. Was this girl lecturing him?

Interesting…

"—so next time before you go off biting people's head off, _listen _to what they've got to say first!"

Interesting…but annoying.

Inuyasha leaned back in his black leather chair. "What's your name again?"

"Higurashi Kag—"

"Last name's fine thank-you, don't want to get too personal with you. So Higashi, tell me again your reason again for wasting my minutes?"

"That's Higurashi, you rotten—"

"Rotten what?" Inuyasha challenged with a low voice.

"—nothing." There was sound of the girl inhaling deeply. "I just wanted to talk about what happened this morning and…about the compensation…"

The nervousness in the girl's voice made Inuyasha smirk. _Lost your fire eh?_ "This morning? What about this morning?"

"This morning…remember, when I hit your car?"

That caused Inuyasha to spring up into a fully upright position. "You!"

"Yeah…_not _some girl who wants to hit on you."

Her voice triggered Inuyasha's memory of her smile and once again, he was reminded of the puzzle of the feelings it brought him.

"I'm really, really sorry…"

The sincerity in the girl's voice surprised Inuyasha. "Whatever. I already told you not to worry about it so you didn't need to call me."

"Well I'm worrying, ok?" The girl snapped. "I'm going to pay you back for damages. It's just that…"

"Just what?"

"I…don't have much money at the moment. My grandpa's in the hospital and we can hardly afford his fees…but I-I'll give you all I have right now and I was wondering if…"

Inuyasha was kind of intrigued. "Yeah?" he prompted.

"I was wondering if you could give me some time to pay you back the rest of it," The girl spoke fast.

Twirling his pen, Inuyasha had to admit he was at a loss.

"I promise I'll pay you back everything by the end of summer!"

Inuyasha shrugged. "You can do whatever you want. I already told you that this isn't necessary. My car's repairs are probably all done by now."

"No—I'll pay you back! It was my fault."

"It was my bad luck," Inuyasha replied nonchalantly.

"So it's all settled then? I'm sure I'll have enough by the end of September! Thanks so much! Bye!"

_Click. _Inuyasha stared at his phone in amusement.

"She doesn't even know how much she owes."

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Kaede bustled around the huge Takahashi manor, trying to finish up the last of her chores for the day.

Finally after fifteen minutes had passed she had both of the boys' clothes folded and the last of the quartz countertops was dusted. Hurriedly, she headed for her room upstairs via the very convenient elevator and hauled out a murky green-wheeled suitcase.

"Clothes…underwear…medicine…my my I'm getting too old for this…"

In twenty minutes flat the zipper was being zipped. "I had better not have forgotten anything…"

Kaede wandered around her room one last time. She was quite satisfied that she could still move this fast, even at her wise age.

Back downstairs, she flung open the kitchen cupboards and dug around in the stash of snacks that was always in constant supply. She collected chips, chocolate bars, beef jerky, and even a package of the 'Whoof' brand biscuits both Inuyasha and Sesshomaru loved to death.

She had one shoe on when she realized she forgot to do something. Scrambling back into the main hall, she found some paper and grabbed a random pen.

_Dear Inuyasha & Sesshomaru,_

_My cousin gave me call this afternoon saying there's a family emergency at home. I'm leaving you two to look after the manor while I am gone. I don't know when I'll be back but it shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks. Inuyasha behave yourself, don't go crazy with the girls just because I'm not here. Sesshomaru, don't scare the newspaper child when he comes to collect money. Both of you don't work too hard. Call me if anything happens. _

_Love, _

_Kaede_

_P.S. I stole some of those Whoof biscuits you boys love so much. Don't kill each other because you think the other has stolen it. _

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Kagome squealed as the sky started attack her with raindrops. Really big, fat raindrops.

"Why didn't I bring an umbrella…" she muttered under her breath as she sprinted across the street.

She groaned as she saw the light turn yellow, signalling her to wait and get drenched some more.

"Well at least I know grandpa's doing well…"

Kagome smiled as she reminisced the time she spent with grandpa in the past few hours. The doctor said his condition was improving everyday and that he'd be out of the hospital later the next day.

"But stupid sky doesn't want me to be too happy and decided to soak me on my way home," Kagome grumbled.

The light was taking an awfully long time to turn green today.

_Beep Beep!_

Kagome jumped, startled at the sudden noise at such a close proximity to her.

A sleek Mazda convertible was at a halt beside her. The windows rolled down to reveal a woman with chocolate brown eyes and an elegant, long ponytail.

"Hey. Would you like a ride?"

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**A/N: All done. My soul will be with Harry and the deathy hollows for the next couple of days so the next update will probabl y be after next week. Review please! **

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